Tag Archives: Galaxy Nexus

Leaked pictures of what appears to be an LG-made future Nexus device surfaced this week

They usually stand for "life's good," but this week, LG's trademark letters stood for something else entirely – "leaks guaranteed."

If you're building a new smartphone, as LG appears to be, you can pretty much assume someone's going to get a picture of it, and that before too long, the whole of the internet is going to see it.

All that glitters is not yet to be sold: the sparkly backing of the new LG E960

The leak in question this time is what appears to be an LG-made Nexus device. Judging by the leaked photos, which appeared in the XDA-Developers forum, Engaget says the LG E960 "appears to be a variant of the Optimus G – until you realize that it's using software navigation keys, doesn't quite resemble the international or AT&T Optimus G models and is oddly badged as the 'Full JellyBean on Mako.'"

The device also bears some resemblance to Samsung's Galaxy Nexus, though the E960's corners seem more rounded than those of of the LG Optimus G, and it's backing is flatter, with a sleeker design than that of the Galaxy Nexus.

Meanwhile, says Mobile Syrup, the fact that the E960 has recently passed through FCC certification "showing off PCS and AWS bands for HSPA+ and AWS bands for LTE," hints that the new smartphone is likely to be available on a number of networks, potentially making it "one of the most multi-faceted unlocked phones on the market."

Based on the assumption that LG is in fact producing the next Nexus device – which it probably is – there's talk that the LG E960 may be ready by early November.

Men are from Mars and women are from Venus, men and technology go together hand and hand or perhaps like a hand in heel much like women and shopping go together. Men most commonly use their Smartphones or other technological devices for audio and video playback, as personal organization applications, Internet access, and global positioning systems also known by its more popular reference GPS. According to a recent Smartphone Survey, more than 50.9% of women have adopted smartphones, with just a slightly lower 50.1% of men who've adopted smartphones. Here's a list of some of the most popular Smartphones that every woman should consider purchasing that man in her life whether its a husband, boyfriend, fiancee, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, nephew or even just a friend:

1) For that tech savvy man in your life you should consider the HTC EVO 4G LTE Smartphone because of its immense popularity and it technologically advanced features such as an Android 4.0 Operating System, 4.7-inch HD display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel camera, and 4G LTE connectivity. The HTC EVO 4G LTE is a literal out of this world technological marvel that also features Beats Audio, a quality sound system that is a perfect combination of hardware and software to mix the perfect and finally at $199.99 it also has a technological marvelous price to match.

2) For that music loving man in your life you should consider the Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman Smartphone (yes that's the real name) is readily equipped with everything that music loving man of yours could want. Some of those intriguing musical features include the ability to run on the Gingerbread Android Operating System and 1GHz Qualcomm Scorpion processor. It also features a a 3.2-inch TFT capacitive touch display, 480x320p screen resolution, 5MP rear camera, 0.3MP secondary camera, 512MB RAM, and a 2GB memory card. The battery life of this Sony Walkman inspired Smartphone is a capability of f 14 hours on 2G network and 6 hours on 3G and the Live Connection is supported on a 3G Network by a Wi-Fi with DLNA support, GPS, and Bluetooth connectivity enabled.

3) For the Corporate/Businessman in your life the BlackBerry Torch 9810 is the perfect briefcase accessory that every man should have in hand or in his pocket. The BlackBerry Torch 9810 comes fully equipped with h the legendary BlackBerry Messenger, QWERTY keypad, multi touch input, optical trackpad, TFT capacitive screen, megapixel camera, 4 GB internal memory, WiFi and of course also includes its 3G capabilities. The BlackBerry Torch also features ample 8G that is example to 32GB of memory, the convenient connectivity capabilities allow you to connect with with HSPA+ high speeds and WI-Fi. The BlackBerry 7.0 Operating System is nothing short of amazing with its liquid animation graphics that include instant response times and stunning graphics, it also supports HTML5 video and a voice activated universal search engine.

4) For the man in your life who's “young at heart” the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S has the looks, the design and the raging trends in sync with your man's youthful zest for life. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S features a 4.2 inch capacitive touch screen with LED backlight along with a an 8 megapixel camera capable of recording and capturing every youthful moment of the day and even well into the night. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S also features 720p HD Videos, runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread Operating System, a turbo lightening fast turbo fast 1.4 GHz processor and more than 25,000 Google Play applications most of which are free to use and download. With this youthful Smartphone also comes a youthful price tag for roughly $350.00.

5) For the social man in your life who loves his friending everyone he meets on Facebook and tweeting on Twitter about the fun in his life the Chat 3G is the perfect Smartphone Companion for this man. The Inq Chat 3G is just as it a sounds a very unique and intersting Smartphone that features blazing 3G speeds and even syncs your iTunes and Windows Media music, video and photos straight from your computer. With the Inq Chat 3G Smartphone you'll be sure to never miss a text message, you'll be able to connect on the go and of course Facebook is at the touch of your fingertips.

6) For the video gamer in your life who loves the thrill of the motorcycle chase, the capture of the alien foe or simple just a quiet countryside drive the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is meant for that very gamer in your life. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play features 4-inch LED backlit screen, multi touch input, Wi-Fi, 3G, 5 megapixel camera capable of recording 720p videos, runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is also the first and only known PlayStation Certified Android Smartphone but the downside it does come with a $369.99 price tag.

7) For the versatile man in your life the iPhone 4S is the most versatile Smartphone for the your perfectly versatile man. The iPhone 4S features a 3.5 inches LED backlit capacitive touchscreen, IPS TFT , a 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash and a front camera for capturing versatile images. The iPhone 4S also includes a Siri, you can ask her to make calls, send text, get directions or even tell a joke. The iPhone 4S features the A5 one of the fastest dual core processors that any Smartphone currently in process, 8MP iSight camera and optics and a versatile price tag of $199.99.

8) For the multitasking man in your life the Nokia E7 is a Smartphone that stands alone that is perfect for work and play. The Nokia E7 features ts full SLIDER QWERTY keyboard perfect for sending a quick email, typing short papers, instant messaging, social networking browsing the internet, the high definition 8 megapixel camera is perfect for taking crisp, clean photos and videos with its 720p HD quality and the Nokia E7 boasts an impressive nine hours of battery life. The Nokia E7 also includes a a 680 MHz ARM 11 processor, 256 MB of RAM, 16GB of personal storage space, an AMOLED touchscreen, and a 1200 mAh battery.

9) For the family man in your life the ZTE Fury is a perfect match for that endearing and enduring family man who loves your and your children. The ZTE Fury features a 3.5 inches capacitive touch screen with 480 x 320 pixels resolution that utilized SnapDragon Qualcomm MSM8865 single-core 1.5 GHz, operates with the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, and it also includes a 4 GB plus slot MicroSD internal memory that can be upgrade to 32 GBs with 512 MBs RAM. This Smartphone also enables you to subscribe to Sprint Mobile Control for USD 4.99/per channel/per month to to lock their children’ mobile phone or schedule and to monitor their children's downloaded applications.

10) Finally for the sports fanatic man in your life the Galaxy Nexus is the perfect Smartphones that enables your sports fan to view his football, baseball and even football on a high quality Android 4.1 Galaxy Nexus touchscreen. The Galaxy Nexus also features a 4.65-inch 720 Super AMOLED HD display, 16GB or 32GB of on-board storage, 1GB of RAM, and NFC technology. It's 3G Network is easily accessible from anywhere in the world whether your on the go or in the comfort of your own home. The Galaxy Nexus is the first device running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and is the first pentaband device that utilizes the HSPA+ GSM networks.

Google kicked off its annual Google I/O developer keynote in a big way Wednesday by announcing a new version of the Android operating system, a new tablet, a media streamer, and Google+ updates, along with news on the company's Project Glass. We don’t have much in the way of details right now, but here is what we know so far:

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Jelly Bean is the next update to the Android OS (Given the revision number 4.1 versus the 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich release of a couple of months ago.). Project Butter is the first phase of Google's attempt to improve Android's performance. With Project Butter, scrolling and swiping animations should be smoother than they are on older Android versions.

Jelly Bean uses a new search interface its calling "cards" to make it easier to read and digest certain types of information. As an example, if you search for the weather forecast, search cards will provide an attractive display that shows the weather conditions, temperature, and forecast in a Siri-like display.

Search cards can show things like answers to questions and image search results. It also works with Android's voice search feature.

Other Jelly Bean 4.1 improvements include an upgraded camera app and the ability to send photos and videos from one phone to another via Google Beam.

Google began its keynote address with some figures on Android activations. So far, it’s hardware partners have sold in excess of 400 million Android-based devices, and that number is increasing with more than 1 million Android phone or tablet activations every day. At last year’s Google I/O, the company announced that 100 million Android devices had shipped so far.

Is Samsung to have its tiara and sash taken away? Will Google choose another manufacturer to make the next Nexus handsetand dethrone the reigning queen? And, *gasp* could it be an underdog victory for LG, the manufacturer that has had its fits and starts with Android smartphones?

If chosen, the lagging manufacturer would get early access to the next gen version of Android which means great buzz, great press and great sales. Samsung has been a perfect example of this success model by being the vendor bringing us the two latest Nexus devices: the Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus. With experience working with Google and new, major Android OS version upgrades, there are a fair number positives in the incumbent’s favor. So if they have ushered in a Nexus for Gingerbread and now Ice Cream Sandwich, will they also be cobranded with Jellybean?

And how will LG Mobile win the bid when Samsung sold an impressive 300 million cell phones last year and is continually vying for top-smartphone brand ranking in the US? Honestly, the more likely competition will come from Google internally and its latest acquisition-in-the-works: Motorola Mobility. The tech conglomerate has made reassurances that it would not play favorites with Motorola, but… really? How would that make business sense?

If Google does opt to dole out Nexus rights to an external manufacturer, the status will not be quite so dramatic as Motorolawould still get the perk of early iteration to next gen Android OS. And, by all accounts the company’s engineering and software teams will likely work closely post-acquisition which put Motorola in a position to help shape the Android platform. There is the question of how will peripheral devices, accessory appeal and that brand association affect these contenders and what will they bring to the table in terms of docking stations and power options to garner more attention and press?

What LG does have in its favor (despite notorious custom Android skins that have not won over customers) is their marked improvements from past years to this year’s MWC showing which introduced the optimistically improved LG Optimus 4X. This shows ambition and a willingness to put in the work. A little bit of gumption, elbow grease, and a good ole fashioned Hail Mary Pass maybe do the trick for LG.

The changing of the guard from one year to the next brings inevitable changes. This is especially true with mobile technology which is arguably one of the most competitive and innovative segments of the tech industry as traditional feature phones and carriers are challenged with smartphone technologies and apps and unlocked phones.

So even if you keep half an ear to the latest happenings in this niche of the world market, there is a plethora of information, rumors, and announcements to keep track of. To help make the focus more manageable, here are a few noteworthy notices to kick off your 2012 mobile tech watch.

First, the continuing saga of the king of feature phones as it endeavors to make its mark in a smartphone world: Nokia. The mobile OS this manufacturer chose for its foray into smartphones is Symbian. Clearly this pairing didn’t fare well in the global marketplace. As a farewell gesture that is bound to drive the final nail in the coffin of Symbian, Nokia has opted to rebrand its latest smartphone as Nokia Belle. No Symbian to be mentioned in association again it seems. Perhaps the best rebranding for Nokia would be launching a new tablet featuring its next mobile OS choice.

Not to be left out, Google Android is bound to make this list. And, it is no surprise that it is causing waves with its much-buzzed-about OS upgrade: Ice Cream Sandwich. Global rollouts of this Android 4.0 update were supposed to have begun for Nexus S customers a few days ago, but according to the Google Community Manager, Paul Wilcox, announced that they are pausing updates to better monitor feedback for a while (this sounds oddly familiar to CarrierIQ scandal which highlighted the benefits of customers choosing unlocked devices).

On a more positive note for Google, they are now globally activating approximately 700,000 Android devices daily. The company’s willingness to work with many manufacturers (creating more opportunities for customers to choose carrier neutral unlocked phones), is significantly contributing to their continued growth around the world.

To follow on the heels of Google’s customer driven philosophy, carriers are having to fight the loss of their exclusivity on smartphones, tablets and accessories by dropping their prices. Recent reports show that 4G LTE pricing may drop by as 60% by 2016 as the additional speeds aren’t worth the cost for heavy users and the carrier specific devices that enable 4G are markedly more expensive than their 3G counterparts as well.

Every brand and company has its shtick, its M.O., its press friendly sound bytes. Google is no different when espousing the virtues of its Google Android operating system at each event they are able to use a soapbox and spread their smartphone evangelism. The main gospel is the Android culture of openness and the lack of limitations is to the benefit of the consumer.

This is great PR spin. And this writer truly loves a good euphemism laced with truth. So, while Android is more open that its competitors, it is comparative. When held up to open-source software like Linux, it is actually quite closed. Hence, a Hollywoodesque Benniffer moniker is bound to catch: Clopen.

At the moment, Google makes the Android OS source code available to companies and individuals to customize to their liking. Very open and transparent, non? Flip side of this coin is the Google mobile suite: Gmail, Android Market, Google Maps, and the long list of “Google” stamped functions. These are closed sourced. The double talk is confusing for customers. Especially when end users purchase a no-Market Android device. Not good PR.

Throw in the custom skins and fragmentations used by the varied carriers and manufacturers and there is a varying standard of quality for the smartphones bearing the Android and Google names. This is damaging to a brand. In fact, Marketing Land’s Danny Sullivan wrote that these quality control discrepancies are resulting in customers with outdated devices in their hands. This particular quirk can be addressed with accessories (protective cases, upgraded screen skins etc), but what is under the hood is harder to resolve.

Case in point: the latest Android OS release, Ice Cream Sandwich. Various manufacturers have hedged and speculated about when the update would be available and on what phones and what carriers (at least with an unlocked phone, the customer will have more say in to get the latest Android OS). As of right now, only one physical device has the update on it. The flagship Android phone, Galaxy Nexus. Newer devices like the DROID RAZR, DROID Bionic, and the Rezound should see the update later in 2012, but there are many others like the LG Revolution (launched only 7 months ago) that will never get the ICS upgrade treatment because of the carrier (please see above note about unlocked phones!).

Luckily for customers, the Open Handset Alliance which encompasses major US players (LG, HTC, Motorola, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T to name a few) which has pledged with Google to bring an end to fragmentation and bring the latest Android OS to devices if the smartphone release is 18 months old or younger.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a pure Android cell phone which comes packed with a 4.0 OS based features and applications coupled with a grand view 4.5 inch display. who among us doesn't like to see smartphones put through the ringer... from the drop test to the puree speed blender test.

The people of iFixit (http://www.ifixit.com) live for these type of testing. recently they tore down, ripped apart and did other nasty things to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. After the dust settled the Galaxy Nexus was awarded with 'Repairability Score' of 6 out of 10 (with 10 being the easiest to repair). At times like this we are grateful for cell phone accessories that designed to protect, personalize and enhance your mobile devices.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4.5-inch 1280x720 pixel Super AMOLED high-definition display use fortified glass which can handle drops and repel scratched - as can be seen in the following video

Despite having passed this intensive key scratch test we still recommend you protect your cell phones with the latest fashion setting cases and skins, screen protectors and other fun accessories that enhance your mobile device's functionality.